Pediatric Patient with Penetrating Brain Injury by a Pickaxe: Case Report and Literature Review

Head trauma due to falls is often seen in children; however, penetrating brain injury (PBI), the most life-threatening condition of traumatic brain injury (TBI), is exceedingly rare. Herein, we report and discuss the challenges encountered in the surgical and postoperative management of a 13-year-old child patient with PBI by a pickaxe who was admitted to Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 3 and who not only survived but also achieved a good Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) after one year of postoperative follow-up. To our knowledge, this is the first case of pickaxe-induced brain injury on the American continent and the youngest survivor of this trauma reported in the literature.